Tank bottom flush valve



Feb. 6, 1963 G. A. PIEL 3,367,623

TANK BOTTOM FLUSH VALVE Original Filed May 15, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR. George A P/e/ HIS ATTORNEY$ Feb. 6, 1968 cs; A. PIEL 3,367,623

TANK-BOTTOM FLUSH VALVE Original Filed May 15, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

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v I" n INVENTOR George A. Pie/ 39m, afew vw HIS ATTORNEYS United StatesPatent 16 Claims. (Cl. 251-144) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sphericalvalve having a three-part housing is constructed particularly for use asa flush bottom valve for a walled body including a pipe or conduit andfor which the term tank is employed as a general designator. Upper andlower housing body parts are held in a sealed-off and aligned relationwith a central or intermediate housing body part .by aligning gaskets orgasket portions that are positioned between the parts; bolts extendingbetween upper and lower parts and across the central body partremovably-secure them together as an assembly. The upper part isconstructed to be secured to the bottom or a bottom corner of a tank,and a ball valve part is rotatably-operatively-carried in a centralchamber of the assembly by upper and lower, resilient, sealing gasketsin such a manner as to provide resilient spaced-apart feather edge,circular line, sole points of engagement and to support the valve partwith a minimized frictional surface contact, The upper valve part isconstructed to form an unobstructed downward continuation of the tankbottom or bottom corner, and the ball valve part has a passagewaytherethrough that corresponds to the size of inlet and outletpassageways of the assembly.

The valve part is removably-positioned in the central housing body partby a pair of axially-aligned opposed shafts, on one of which it isadapted to rotate. The other shaft has a complementary latching fit withthe valve part to rotate it by means of a handle. The valve part may berotated between an open, down-flushing position in which its passagewayis fully aligned with inlet and outlet passageways through the top andbottom body parts, and a closed position in which its passageway is atsubstantially right angles to the inlet and outlet passageways. The

, valve part when closed has the apex of the periphery of its uppersurface along a transverse plane defined by surrounding edges of adeclining inner face of the upm housing body part.

g This application is a continuation of my application for United StatesLetters Patent Ser. No. 280,608 of May 15, 1963, entitled, Tank BottomFlush Valve, now abandoned in favor of this application.

This invention relates to an improved ball or spherical type of valveand particularly, to a valve which will be suitable for tank, container,vessel or reactor flush bottom mounting and utilization.

Previous to my invention, it has been customary to employ a so-calledplug type of flush bottom tank valve which has a valve-seating inletthatprojects upwardly within the tank from its bottom opening and whichis provided with a plug for moving into and out of a valve seatingposition with the projecting inlet portion and within the drainpassageway. Such a type of valve tends to restrict the flow of sludgeand other discharge from the tank, and by reason of the inwardprojection of its inlet portion, does not provide an etiective andcomplete drainage of the tank. Although a ball or spherical type ofvalve has been used in other applications, such as for "ice controllingfluid pressure flow through a line, I have been able to devise aspherical valve which will be practical for utilization in connectionwith the flushing of tanks or walled bodies and which will not only meetfactors involved in such a utilization, but which will eliminatedisadvantageous features of an ordinary flush bottom tank valve.

It has been an object of my invention to provide an improved valveconstruction utilizing a spherical or ball operating element, and onethat will be particularly suitable for tank bottom flushing-outoperations;

Another object of my invention has been to provide a flushing-out valvewhich will provide a full-flow, unobstructed passageway when it is inits open position, which will be suitable for mounting at the bottom ofa tank in such a manner as to enable a full and complete cleaning out ofthe tank, and which will be adaptable for corner and other tankmountings, as may be desired;

A further object of my invention has been to devise a simplified, easilyadjusted and mounted ball valve construction that may be assembled anddisassembled without tie-piping from the standpoint of removing itsfittings, either from outflow piping or from the tank;

A still further object of my invention has been to provide an improvedball valve device which will be efficient and practical in itsutilization and will provide a positive seal, both in its opened andclosed positions;

These and other objects of my invention will appear to those skilled inthe art from the illustrated embodiments and the claims.

In the drawings,

FIGURE 1 is a sectional view in elevation through a valve of myconstruction, as mounted or assembled with a tank bottom for drainage orflushing purposes, and with its valve element in a fully open position;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom end or plan view on the scale of and of the valveconstruction of FIGURE 1, with the tank bottom omitted;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged vertical fragmental section particularlyillustrating details of the construction and utilization of gasketassemblies in the construction of FIGURES l and 2;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view on the scale of FIGURE 1 andshowing its valve element in a closed position; it illustrates theadaptability of a valve of my construction from the standpoint of amodified type of lower or discharge fitting; and

FIGURE 5 is a reduced fragmental section in elevation showing a modifiedtype of upper or inlet fitting which may be used for mounting the valveconstruction of my invention at a tank corner.

In carrying out my invention, I employ a valve 10 whose housing assemblyis made up of three body parts that are shown as employing an inlet orupper stream .fitting part 11 that is suitable for flush-mounting, as bywelding it edgewise to a plate or wall of a bottom portion of a tank,vessel or reactor, an outlet or lower end fitting or part 13 that issuitable for connecting to discharge or sewer piping, and anintermediate or central enclosure part 12 that cooperates with the inletand outlet fitting parts and closes off the spacing therebetween. Theupper fitting part is adaptable in construction for mounting incooperation with a drain opening defined at various bottom locationswith respect to tanks, see for example the construction of FIGURE 5. Themulti-part housing of the valve, as shown particularly in FIGURES 1 and4, cmploys simple and easily demountable means for securing the bodyparts in a sealed-01f positioning with respect to each, and means isprovided for assuring a properly aligned assembled relation of the bodyparts. Threaded mounting bolts or studs 14 may be used in cooperationwith flange portions of the fitting parts of the housing to hold thecentral part in a securely-clamped sealing-off relationshiptherebetween.

This type of flush valve unit or device, not only has a simplifiedconstruction, but provides ease of assembling and dismounting its partsas well as of maintenance. That is, spherical or ball valve part orelement 17, itself, may be inserted and removed by merely unclamping thecentral enclosure part 12 and slightly separating the fitting parts withrespect to each other. At the same time, gaskets 15 and 15' used insealing-off the housing and gaskets 16 and 16 used in positioning,sealing and seating the ball valve element, itself, may be easilyinspected and replaced. Gaskets 15 and 15' that are positioned betweenthe central enclosure part and the fitting parts of the housing haveself-aligning features with cooperating edge portions of the body partsto further facilitate the assembly and disassembly of the valve device.In addition, the sealing relationship between the housing parts and thesealing relationship of the valve part 17 may be simply and easilyadjusted by the bolts 14 which are utilized in securing the body partstogether.

Although the ball valve part may have a single stem mounting, I haveshown a preferred mounting employing two stem or shaft parts on whichopposite axial bearing and latching bore portions of the ball valve part17 are adapted to have a slide-on fitted relationship. An operatingshaft part 19 extends through a bonnet in the central housing part 12and is provided with a handle 20 for rotating or turning the valve part17 fully from a closed position of FIGURE 4 into an open flow positionof FIGURE 1. It will be noted that, in its open position, the valve part17 has a port, bore or flow passageway 17d that is fully unobstructing,in that it corresponds in flow diameter to ports, bores or flowpassageways 11d and 13d that extend centrally through the fitting parts11 and 13 of the housing. It will also be noted that the construction issuch that it permits the ball valve element 17 to be mounted closelyadjacent to, but below the outflow opening from the tank that is to beflushed, outwardlybeyond or beneath inner faces of adjacent wallportions of the tank, and in such a manner as to permit a fullflushing-out of the tank and avoid a plugging-up of the outflow of heavysludge from the tank. The apex segment of the outer face 0 of the ballvalve 17 is shown in FIG- URE 4 as extending into bore passageway 11d ofthe fitting part 11 to lie along a transverse plane extending acrossouter or upstream edges of the mouth of such bore passageway.

Although the mounting in FIGURE 1 involves the use of an upstream orinlet fitting part 11, such that it can be positioned as a dishedcontinuation of bottom wall 9 of the tank, it will be apparent that thispart can be also utilized in a clamped or secured-on relation withreference to an annular mounting flange of a tank. In FIGURE 5, I haveshown a modified inlet fitting part 11' which enables it to be utilized,as in a corner-mounted relationship with respect to plates or walls 9'and 9" of a rectangular tank. In the embodiment illustrated, it will benoted that the top or apex of the ball 17 is positioned downstream of aplane that projects across the top edge of the drain opening of the tankor container. In the embodiment of FIGURE 5, a centrally-converging orcone-shaped face a of the fitting 11' defines a continuation of thedrain opening.

Referring particularly to FIGURE 1, I have indicated adownwardly-sloping bottom wall 9 of the tank which is provided with anoutflow port or drain opening within which the upper end fitting orhousing body part 11 may be mounted in a peripheral, edge-to-edge flushrelationship, as by weld metal w. In this connection, it will be notedthat upper face u of the part 11 is provided with adownwardly-converging, smooth or concave slope from the drain opening toform a continuation of the concave slope of the bottom wall 9 of thetank. Thus, it is apparent that the valve device 10 of my constructionmakes possible a mounting that involves no upwardly projecting portionor any obstruction to hinder a full and complete fluid outflow ordischarge from the tank.

The upstream housing part or fitting 11 in FIGURE 1 has a thickened,downwardly-projecting wall or flange portion 11a which, as shown, may beof annular shape and is provided with a series of peripherallyspaced-apart threaded bore holes 11b for receiving threaded ends 14a ofthe mounting bolts or studs 14. The upper fitting or housing part 11 isprovided with an inwardly-offset seating or recess portion lie ofcircular or annular shape for receiving a ring-like or annular sealinggasket 15. As shown particularly in FIGURE 3, the gasket 15, as formed(this may be done in place), has a downwardly-projecting inner edgeflange portion 15b, and an opposed, outwardlyupwardly projecting outeredge flange portion 150 which serve to guide the seated relation betweenthe upper part 11 and the central housing part 12. Further, the part 12has an annular or circular groove 12d in its upper edge which is adaptedto receive an annular, mid-positioned, downwardly-projecting tongue 15aof the gasket 15. The gasket 15 fits within a recessed ledge portion 12cof the part 12, so that the outer face of its flange 15c abuts ashoulder or wall face of the part 12, and its inner face abuts anopposed shoulder or wall face of the part 11. An inner face of the innerflange 15b abuts an inner wall face or shoulder of the same part 12 andan opposed shoulder or wall face of the recess portion 11c of the part11.

The lower housing part or fitting 13, like the upper part 11, has agasket-receiving annular or circular recess that is positioned inwardlyof its flange 13a for receiving a bottom annular gasket 15' whichcorresponds to the gasket 15 that is associated with the upper part 11.The lower ring-like gasket 15 may, as shown, be of the same constructionas the upper gasket 15. The lower gasket 15 has a mounting between theparts 12 and 13 that is similar to the mounting of the upper gasket 15between the parts 11 and 12, see FIGURES 1 and 3. Thus, correspondingportions of the gasket 15 have been given the same reference numerals asthe gasket 15 to simplify the understanding and description. It will benoted that an annular groove 12'd is located along the lower edge of thepart 12 to receive projecting rib portion 15'a, and that flanges 15'!)and 15c serve as positioning and aligning portions between the parts 12and 13.

The bottom of outlet housing part or fitting 13 is provided with anannular flange 13a that projects radiallyoutwardly therefrom and throughwhich open portions or bores 13b extend at peripherally-spaced locationstherealong (for alignment with the bores 11b of the part 11) to bypassor receive the bolts 14. It will be noted that each bolt 14 is shown ashaving a wrench flat head 14c and a lock washer, and that its stemportion has a slight clearance within an associated bore 13b. Thehousing body parts are accurately aligned by sealing gaskets 15 and 15'before the threaded end 14a is tightened-down within an associatedthreaded bore 11b of the part 11.

The part 13 is shown provided with a downwardlyprojecting sleeve wall13g whose bore 13 is slightly enlarged and threaded to removably-reeeivethe threaded end of an outflow pipe, not shown. The diameter of the bore13f is sufficiently enlarged with respect to passageway bore diameter13d, so that the outflow diameter through the end of the piping will bethe same, compensating for the thickness of the end wall of the piping.It will be noted that outflow bore passageway 11d of the upstreamfitting part 11 corresponds in diameter to bore passageway 17d of thespherical or ball valve part 17 and to outflow bore passageway 13:! ofthe downstream lilting part 13.

The central housing or closure body part 12 is shown of annular orcircular shape and as defining an enlarged operating chamber therein. Itis adapted to be securelyclamped or mounted in position between theparts 11 and 13 by tightening-down the studs or bolts 14. A fullassembled alignment and sealing between the three parts is assured bythe previously-described construction and mounting of the sealing ringgaskets 15 and 15'. The central part 12 is provided at one end with acentral boss 12a that is shown as having a threaded, frustoconical bore12b to receive an intermediate threaded portion 18b of anendwise-positioned, circular mounting stub shaft or short-length stem 18for the ball valve part 17. It will be noted that the stub 18 has awrench flat outer end portion 180 for mounting it and adjusting thepositioning of its inner substantially cylindrical bearing end portion18a. The portion 18a is adapted to slide fit within a circular bearingbore 17a in the apex of the thickness of the ball part 17 to define oneend of the axis of rotation. To facilitate the mounting of the part 18a,the bore 17a may be elongated, so that the portion 18a may be slidsidewise therein instead of purely endwise.

The opposite end portion of the central housing part 12 has a boss 12cwhich provides a bonnet mounting for an operating shaft or stem 19. Theboss 12.9, at its outer end, has an enlarged threaded bore 12i toreceive a gland nut or bushing part 23 and particularly, itsmale-threaded, outer wall 23d therein. It will be noted that theoperating stem or shaft 19, substantially centrally of its length, isprovided with an annular or circular, outwardly-projecting, positioningflange 19c which is adapted to fit within an inner, annular recess ofthe gland nut or bushing 23. The boss 12c has a bearing bore portion 12for rotatably-receiving portion 19a of the stern, and has an enlargedbore 12g, intermediate in diameter with respect to bores 12 and 121',whose forward end portion is sloped to receive a gland gasket or washer24 of substantial wedge shape in a complementary manner therein. Anannular ring 25 of a suitable metal, such as stainless steel, has aninner edge that is also sloped to provide a complementary fit with thegland gasket 24, and has an outer edge that is planar to abut againstthe flange 19c to hold the stem 19 in a suitable operating positionwithin the part 12. The gland nut or bushing 23, when tightened-down,engages the flange 19c to force it against annular ring 25 and thus,force the annular ring 25 into tight wedging engagement with the sealingwasher 24.

The gland nut or bushing 23 has a bearing bore 23a which also journalsthe stem 19 and has an offset bore 23]) adjacent its outer end toreceive an annular, relatively flat or band-like sealing gasket orwasher 26 therein. The operating shaft or stem 1'9, at its extremeinnenend, is provided with a square portion 19b of reduced d1ameterwhich is adapted to endwise-slidably fit within a square locking bore17b within the thickness apex of the ball valve part 17 and define anopposite end of the operating axis of the ball valve 17. The square bore17b is slightly larger than the square portion of stem 19 to facilitatethe mounting of the ball part on the portion 1%. It is thus apparentthat a turning of the shaft 19 will accomplish a like turning movementof the ball part 17 about opposed stern portion 18a and within thehousing.

The outer end of the operating shaft 19 has a reduceddiameter, square orrectangular end portion 19d to receive a square or rectangular bore 29aof a handle therein for effecting turning movement. A threaded, handlemounted bolt 21 and washer 22 secure the handle 20 in position on theend of the shaft 19. It will be noted that the shaft 19 has a threadedbore 190 at its front end to receive the threaded stem of the bolt 21.

As shown particularly in FIGURES 1, 2 and 4, the boss He is providedwith an outward-projecting stop prong 27 which is adapted to cooperatewith a pair of spaced-apart stop prongs 28 and 29 that project from thehandle 20 to limit the turning movement of the handle 20 and thus, ofthe shaft 19 and its ball valve element 17 between the fully openposition of FIGURE 1 and the fully closed position of FIGURE 4.

Referring particularly to FIGURES l and 3, the upper housing part orfitting 11 has an annular recess or seat 11e formed at the inner orlower end of its bore 11d to receive a resilient, annular,ball-positioning, seating ring and sealing gasket 16. In like manner,the lower housing part or fitting 13 is provided with a seating recess13:: adjacent the upper or inner end of its bore 13d to receive acorresponding resilient, annular, ball-positioning, seating ring andsealing gasket 16.

It will be noted that the seating gaskets 16 and 16 have inner,angular-shaped, wall faces which abut with and fit in a complementarymanner with similar faces of the seating recesses 11c and 13a, and thatan inner bore face a of each gasket 16 and 16' forms a continuationrespectively of the bores 11d and 13d. An inner, exposed, corner portionof each gasket 16 and 16' has a sloped, planar face e that issubstantially tangential to the spherical surface 0 of the ball valveelement 17 and that slopes into an annular, feather, contact edge f. Thecontact edge ,1 is located between the face e and an annular concave,grooved or chamber-defining face g. An exposed bottom face i extendsinwardly to define a second annular feather contact edge h with theannular grooved face g in a spaced relation with the feather contactedge 1. It will be noted that the sloped face 2 defines a slightlywedge-shaped spacing from the bore face d that terminates at the feathercontact edge 1. The feather edges and h define resilient circular linepoints of sealing contact in a spaced relation along segments of theface 0 of the ball part 17, so as to provide dual points of sealingcontact and support of minimized frictional surface engagement. Suchdual, spaced contacts, as provided by the gaskets 16 and 16' adjacentupstream and downstream segments of the ball valve element 17, as shownin the drawings, represent the sole portions of engagement with andprovide a maximized effectiveness of sealing action with the sphericalsurface c and, at the same time, minimize break-away torque in operatingthe valve, as when it is to be moved from a closed to an open position.The valve element 17 is prevented from floating, but has a resilientoperating positioning and is given a full and effective sealing actionby such a dual edge contact.

The gaskets, such as 15 and 15, 16 and 16', 24 and 26, may be ofsuitable resin material, such as tetrafluoroethylene polymer (furnishedby E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. under the trademark Teflon), or anyother suitable type of gasket having limites flow characteristics. Theseating gaskets 16 and 16 may be of virgin tetrafluoroethylene polymeror of such a resin as reinforced in its body by suitable materials, suchas glass fibers, asbestos, bronze powder, etc. The ring 25 may be ofmetal construction.

In FIGURE 4, the valve device is of the same construction as shown inFIGURE 1, except that the lower or outlet fitting 13' is modified as toits end connection fitting. As shown, downwardly-projecting sleeve wall13g has a downwardlyconverging or cone-shaped outer peripheral portion13' that is threaded to cooperate with complementary female threads 30ain a central bore of a mounting flange 30. Weld metal w may be employedfor making the flange 30 an integral part of the portion 13'g. Theflange 30 is shown provided with through-extending bore holes 3%, sothat it may be secured by bolt and nut assemblies to a correspondingflange of an outflow pipe system.

In the modification of FIGURE 5, the construction of the valve unit isthe same as in FIGURES 1 and 4, except that its upper housing part orinlet fitting 11' has a slightly different shape for adapting it to acorner mounting of a rectangular tank. Upper entry face a is ofconverging frusto-conical shape so as to provide a continuation ofbottom wall 9' and side wall 9" of the tank and define a non-restrictedoutflow passageway to bore 11'b. Upper outer edges of the fitting orpart 11' may be secured, as

shown, by weld metal w to the cut-out corner edges of the tank walls 9'.It is thus apparent that a valve unit of my invention makes possible thepractical employment of a drain valve with a tank having flat bottom andside portions.

While I have shown preferred embodiments of my invention, it will beunderstood that various changes may be made in its construction andutilization by those skilled in the art without departing from thespirit of the invention as defined in the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In improved ball valve device for providing a complete and effectiveflow discharge therethrough which comprises, a quickly assembled anddisassembled housing having an upstream fitting part, a centralenclosure part and a downstream fitting part; said upstream anddownstream fitting parts defining aligned inlet and outlet borepassageways and said central part defining an operating chamber open atits opposite ends to the inlet and outlet passageways, a. sphericalvalve part having a bore therethrough that defines a full flowpassageway with respect to the inlet and outlet passageways, means forremovablysecuring said parts in an assembled relation with each other,means operatively-positioning said spherical valve part for opening andclosing turning movement within the operating chamber of said centralenclosure part in a gasket-seated relation with said upstream anddownstream fitting parts; said last-mentioned means comprising, aresilient annular gasket of resin material positioned in the borepassageway of said upstream fittin part adjacent to the operatingchamber of said central part, a similar resilient annular gasketpositioned in the bore passageway of said downstream fitting partadjacent to the operating chamber of said central part, and each of saidannular gaskets having a pair of spaced-apart feather edges that projectinto engagement with the peripheral surface of said spherical valve partand define separate circular line contacts therewith to position saidvalve part and to maintain a sealed-off minimized frictional engagementtherewith.

2. An improved valve device as defined in claim 1 wherein, each of saidannular gaskets has an inner substantially spherical surface providedwith an annular groove therein, said pair of feather edges are adjacentto said annular groove and project radially-outwardly with respectthereto, said annular gaskets define a pair of resilient spaced-apartcircular line contacts at their said pair of feather edges with theperipheral surface of said spherical valve to seal-off the operatingchamber along opposite sides of said spherical valve part and provide aminimized break-away torque for the operation of said spherical valvepart, and said feather edges are the sole portions of said gaskets inengagement with the peripheral surface of said spherical valve part.

3. An improved ball valve device for providing a complete and effectiveflow discharge therethrough which comprises, a quickly assembled anddisassembled housing having an upstream fitting part, a centralenclosure part and a downstream fitting part; said upstream anddownstream fitting parts defining aligned inlet and outlet borepassageways and said central part defining an operating chamber open atits opposite ends to the inlet and outlet passageways, a spherical valvepart having a bore therethrough that defines a full flow passageway withrespect to the inlet and outlet passageways, means forremovably-securing said parts in an assembled relation with each other,means operatively-positioning said spherical valve part for opening andclosing turning movement within the operating chamber of said centralenclosure part in a gasket-seated relation with said upstream anddownstream fitting parts, an annular gasket portion of resin materialpositioned between adjacent edges of said upstream fitting part and saidcentral part, a second annular gasket portion of resin materialpositioned between adjacent edges of said central part and saiddownstream fitting part, and said annular gasket portion and said edgeshaving opposed pairs of cooperating offset portions to accurately alignsaid parts in assembling them with respect to each other.

4. An improved ball valve device for providing a complete and effectiveflow discharge therethrough which comprises, a quickly assembled anddisassembled housing having an upstream fitting part, a centralenclosure part and a downstream fitting part; said upstream anddownstream fitting parts defining aligned inlet and outlet borepassageways and said central part defining an operating chamber open atits opposite ends to the inlet and outlet bore passageways, a sphericalvalve part having a bore therethrough that defines a full flowpassageway with respect to the inlet and outlet passageways, means forremovably-securing said parts in an assembled relation with each other,means operatively-positioning said spherical valve part for opening andclosing turning movement within the operating chamber of said centralenclosure part in a gasket-seated relation with said upstream anddownstream fitting parts, an annular gasket portion of resin materialpositioned between an upstream edge of said central part and adownstream edge of said upstream fitting part, a second annular gasketportion of resin material positioned between a downstream edge of saidcentral part and an upstream edge of said downstream fitting part, andsaid annular gasket portion and said edges having opposed cooperatingoffset portions to accurately align said parts in assembling them withrespect to each other.

5. An improved ball valve device as defined in claim 4 wherein saidopposed cooperating offset portions comprise, intermediately-positionedannular grooves in the upstream and downstream edges of said centralpart, and annular ribs on said annular gasket portion to fit within saidannular grooves and position said gasket portion in an aligned relationon the upstream and downstream edges of said central part when the partsof said housing are being assembled.

6. An improved ball valve device as defined in claim 4 wherein opposedcooperating offset portions comprise opposed offset side edges on saidannular gasket portion that are adapted to fit between offset sideportions of the edges of the parts of said housing to align them withrespect to each other when they are being assembled.

7. An improved ball valve device for providing a complete and effectivedischarge therethrough which comprises, a quickly assembled anddisassembled housing having an upstream fitting part, a centralenclosure part and a downstream fitting part; said upstream anddownstream fitting parts defining aligned inlet and outlet borepassageways and said central part defining an operating chamber thereinopen at its opposite ends to the inlet and outlet bore passageways, aspherical valve part having a bore therethrough that defines a full flowpassageway with respect to the inlet and outlet passageways, saidupstream and downstream fitting parts each having a projecting flangeportion, bolts extending across the outside of said central part andcooperating with said flange portions for securing the parts of saidhousing in a rcmovably-assembled relation with each other, sealinggasket portions interposed between adjacent portions of said upstreamfitting part and said central part and between adjacent portions of saiddownstream fitting part and said central part and having cooperatingoffset portions with said fitting parts for aligning said parts in anassembled relation with each other for sealing them together in theirassembled relation, a resilient annular gasket of resin materialpositioned in the bore passageway of said upstream fitting part adjacentand open to the operating chamber of said central part, a similarresilient annular gasket positioned within the bore passageway of saiddownstream fitting part adjacent and open to the operating chamber ofsaid central part, each of said annular gaskets having a pair ofspaced-apart feather edges that project into engagement with theperipheral surface of said spherical valve part to position and maintainit in a sealed-off minimized frictional engagement therewith, means forturning said spherical valve part within said operating chamber to, inone position, move its flow passageway out of alignment with the flowpassageway of said fitting parts to c1ose-oif flow through the assembledparts and to, in another position, fully align its flow passageway withthe flow passageways of said fitting parts for flow therethrough.

8. An improved ball valve device as defined in claim 7 wherein, saidspherical valve part has opposed bore openings therein whose ends areenclosed within said spherical valve part, a stub shaft isadjustably-carried by said central part to project within one of thebore openings of said spherical valve part and rotatably maintain it inposition within the operating chamber, said stub shaft having a lesserlength than the bore within which it fits to facilitate removal andinsertion of said spherical valve part therein, the other bore of saidspherical valve part having offset portions, said means for turning saidspherical valve part having a stem projecting inwardly from an oppositeside of said central part and having offset portions that aresubstantially complementary with those of said other bore, so that arotation of said stem will accomplish a corresponding rotation of saidspherical valve part about said stub shaft within the operating chamber,and the other bore having a diameter that is slightly larger than thediameter of said stem to facilitate mounting of said spherical val-vepart on said stem.

9. A tank bottom flush valve device for providing a complete andeffective drain flow discharge without sludge plugging-up from a drainopening defined by lower wall portions of a tank which comprises, aquickly assembled and disassembled housing having an upstream fittingpart, a central enclosure part and a downstream fitting part; saidupstream and downstream fitting parts defining aligned inlet and outletbore passageways and said central part defining an operating chamberopen at its opposite ends to the inlet and outlet passageways, aspherical valve part having a bore therethrough that defines :a fullflow passageway with respect to the inlet and outlet passageways, saidu-pstream fitting part having a wall portion extendingrad-iallyputwardly from the inlet bore passageway thereof, saidextending wall portion having an upper face declining inwardly intosurrounding edges of an inlet passageway that is defined by theintersection of said upper face and the inlet bore passageway, saidupper face providing a downwardly declining continuation of the lowerwall portions of the tank that define the drain opening, means forremovably-securing said pants in an assembled relation with each other,said means being secured to said upstream fitting part fully below theupper face of said projecting wall portion in such a manner as to avoidobstruction to drain flow discharge from the tank into the inletpassageway of said upstream part, means openatively-positioning saidspherical valve part for opening and closing turning movement within theoperating chamber of said central enclosure part in a gasket-seatedrelation with said upstream and downstream fittin-g pants and in acentrallympwardly projecting relation along and for turning movementwithin the inlet passageway of said upstream fitting part, and saidspherical 'valve part when closed having the apex of the periphery ofits upper sunface portion lying along a transverse plane defined by saidsurrounding edges.

10. A tank bottom flush valve device for providing a complete :andeffective drain flow discharge without sludge plugging-up from a drainopening defined by lower wall portions of a tank which comprises, aquickly assembled and disassembled housing having an upstream fittingpart, a central enclosure part and a downstream fitting part; saidupstream and downstream fitting parts defining aligned inlet and outletbore passageways and said central part defining an operating chamberopen at its opposite ends to the inlet and outlet passageways, aspherical valve part having a bore therethrough that defines a full flowpassageway with respect to the inlet and outlet passageways, saidupstream fitting pant having a wall portion extending radially-outwardlyfrom the inlet bore passageway thereof, said extending wall portionhaving an upper face declining inwardly into surrounding edges of aninlet passageway that is defined by the intersection of said upper faceand the inlet bore passageway, said upper face providing a downwardlydeclining continuation of the lower wall portions of the tank thatdefine the drain 'openin means for removably-securing said pants in anassembled relation with each other, said means being secured to saidupstream fitting part fully below the upper face of said projecting wallportion in such a manner as to avoid obstruction to drain flow dischargefrom the tank into the inlet passageway of said upstream part, meansoperatively-positioning said spherical valve part for opening andclosing turning movement within the operating chamber of said centralenclosure part in a gasket-seated relation with said upstream anddownstream fitting parts and in a centrallyupwardly projecting relationalong and for turning movement within the inlet passageway of saidupstream fitting part, an annular gasket portion of resin materialpositioned between an upper edge of said central part and a lower edgeof said upstream fitting part, a second annular gasket portion of resinmaterial positioned between a lower edge of said central part and anupper edge of said downstream fitting part, and said annular gasketportion and said edges having opposed pairs of cooperating offsetportions to accurately align said parts in assembling them with respectto each other.

11. A tank bottom fiush valve device as defined in claim 10 wherein saidcooperating offset portions comprise, intenmediately-positioned annulargrooves therein in the upper and lower end of said central part, andannular ribs on said annular gasket portion to fit within said annulargrooves and position said gasket portion in an aligned relationship onthe upper and lower edges of said central part when the parts of saidhousing are being assembled.

12. A tank bottom flush valve device as defined in claim 11 wherein,said annular gasket portions have opposed upper and lower side flangesthat are adapted to fit between side portions of the edges of the partsof said housing to align them with respect to each other when they arebeing assembled.

13. A tank bottom flush valve device for providing a complete andeffective drain flow discharge without sludge plugging-up from a drainopening defined by lower wall portions of a tank which comprises, aquickly assembled and disassembled housing having an upstream fittingpart, a central enclosure part and a downstream fitting part; saidupstream and downstream fitting parts defining aligned inlet and outletbore passageways and said central part defining an operating chamberopen at its opposite ends to the inlet and outlet passageways, aspherical valve part having a bore therethrough that defines a full flowpassageway with respect to the inlet and outlet passageways, saidupstream fitting pant having a wall portion extending radially-outwardlyfrom the inlet bore passageway thereof, said extending wall portionhaving an upper face declining inwardly int-o surrounding edges of aninlet passageway that is defined by the intersection of said upper faceand the inlet bore passageway, said upper face providing a downwardlydeclining continuation of the lower wall portions of the tank thatdefine the drain opening, means for removably-securing said parts in anassembled relation with each other, said means being secured to saidupstream fitting part fully below the upper face of said projecting wallportion in such a manner as to avoid obstruction to drain flow dischargefrom the tank into the inlet passageway of said upstream part, meansoperatively-positioning said spherical valve part for opening andclosing turning movement within the operating chamber of said centralenclosure part in a gasket-seated relation with said upstream anddownstream fitting parts and in a centrallyupwardly projecting relationalong and for turning movement within the inlet passageway of saidupstream fitting part; said last-mentioned means comprising an annulargasket of resin material positioned in the bore passage way of saidupstream fitting part adjacent to the operating chamber of said centralpart, a similar annular gasket positioned within the bore passageway ofsaid downstream fitting part adjacent to the operating chamber of saidventral part, and each of said annular gaskets having pair of spacedapart feather edges that project into engagement with the peripheralsurface of said spherical valve part to maintain it in a sealed-01fminimized frictional engagement therewith.

14. A tank bottom fiush valve device for providing a complete andeffective drain fiow discharge without sludge plugging-up from a drainopening defined by lower wall portions of a tank which comprises, aquickly assembled and disassembled housing having an upstream fittingpart, a central enclosure part, and a downstream fitting part; saidupstream and downstream fitting pants defining aligned inlet and outletbore passageways and said central pant defining an operating chambertherein open at its opposite ends to the inlet and outlet passageways, aspherical valve part having a bore therethrough that defines a full fiowpassageway with respect to the inlet and outlet passageways, saidupstream fitting part having a wall portion extending radially-outwardlyfrom the inlet bore passageway thereof, said extending wall portionhaving an upper face of substantially frusto-conical shape declininginwardly into surrounding edges of an inlet passageway that is definedby the intersection of said upper face and the inlet bore passageway,said upper face providing a downwardly declining continuation of thelower wall portions of the tank that define the drain opening, outeredges of said projecting wall portion being adapted to be secured inabutting alignment with the edges of the lower wall portions of the tankwhich define the drain opening, bolts having threaded ends, said upperfitting part having a lower flange portion provided with threaded holestherein, said downstream fitting part having a projecting flangeprovided with bore holes therethro'ugh to receive said bolts therein toproject along said central part and th-readably-engage within thethreaded holes of the lower flange portion of said upstream fitting partto secure the parts of said housing in a removably-assembled relationwit-h respect 'to each other, sealing gaskets interposed betweenadjacent portions of said upstream fitting part and said central partand said downstream fitting part for sealing them together in theirassembled relationship, an annular gasket of a resin material positionedin the bore passageway of said upstream fitting part adjacent and opento the operating chamber of said central part, .a similar anout ofalignment with the flow passageways of said fitting parts to close offflow through the assembled parts :and to, in another position, fullyalign its flow passageway with the flow passageways of said fittingparts for drain flow therethrough; the peripheral surface of saidspherical valve part being operatively-positioned to project upwardlywithin the fiow passageway of said upstream fitting part in such amanner that in its closed position the upper apex of its peripheralsurface is in alignment with a transverse plane across said surroundingopen edges of the inlet passageway.

15. A tank bottom flush valve device as defined in claim 14 wherein,said spherical valve part has opposite ibore openings therein whose endsare enclosed within :said spherical valve part, a stub shaft isadjustably-carried by said central part to project within one of thebore openings of said spherical valve part to rotatahly maintain it inposition within the operating chamber, said :stub shaft having a lesserlength than the bore within Which it fits to facilitate removal andinsertion of said spherical valve part therein, the other bore of saidvalve part having offset portions, said means for turning said sphericalvalve part having a stem projecting inwardly from an opposite side ofsaid central part and having offset portions that are substantiallycomplementary with those of said other bore, so that a rotation of saidstem will accomplish a corresponding rotation of said spherical =valvepart about said st-ub shaft within the operating chamber, and said otherbore having a diameter that is slightly larger than the diameter of saidstem to facilitate mounting of said spherical valve part on said stem.

16. A tank bottom flush valve device as defined in claim 14 wherein,said annular gaskets are of a tetrafluoroethylene polymer resinmaterial, each of said annular gaskets has an inner substantiallyspherical surface provided with an annular groove therein and adjacentradially-inwardly projecting feather edge portions, and said annulargaskets define a pair of spaced-apart circular line contacts at theirfeather edges with the peripheral surface of said spherical valve partto seal off the operating chamber along opposite sides of said sphericalvalve part and provide a minimized break-away torque for the operationof said spherical valve part.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,185,118 5/1916 MacMichael251-148 1,279,900 9/1918 Pearsall 2513 15 1,992,503 2/1935 Penick et al.285129 2,665,879 1/1954- Housekeeper et al. 251315 2,837,308 3/1958Shand 2513l5 2,895,710 7/1959 Sanctuary 251-3l5 3,020,018 2/1962 Stram251144 3,039,484 6/1962 Bredtschneider 137-454.2 3,193,248 7/1965 Lowrey251-3 15 3,211,421 10/1965 Johnson et a1. 251-315 FOREIGN PATENTS149,684 1/ 1953 Australia.

44,522 10/ 1938 Netherlands.

M. CA'RY NELSON, Primary Examiner, W. CELINE, Assistant Examiner,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,367,623 February 6, 1968 George A. Piel It is hereby certified thaterror appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and thatthe said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 6, line 49, for "limites" read limited column 7, line 75, column8, lines 26, 34, 35 and 41, and column 10, lines 27 and 28, 35 and 36,for "portion", each occurrence, read portions column 10, line 34, for"end" read ends -column 11 line 10 after "having" insert a Signed andsealed this 8th day of April 1969.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD J. BRENNER Commissioner of Patents Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Attesting Officer

